Page:Tales and Legends from the Land of the Tzar.djvu/227

Rh Marie-Marevna, and I shall endeavour to do so the second time, if you try to repeat this, because you were very kind to me when I was hanging in that room where you found me; but if you venture to come and take Marie-Marevna away from my palace a third time, then I will have no pity on you, but will cut you up into small pieces! Now, good-bye."

So saying, the skeleton seized Marie-Marevna and rode away with her, while King Vladimir seated himself on a stone and wept bitterly. But after a time, finding that all the tears in the world would not bring back his queen, he got up, shook himself, and went back to the gloomy palace where Marie-Marevna was kept prisoner. The skeleton was from home—he had gone back to his hunt.

"Come, dearest, let us fly!" the king whispered, when he found his wife.

"But he is sure to catch us again."

"Well, let him; at any rate, we shall have an hour or two to ourselves. Come!"

As the skeleton was returning from the hunt his horse again began stumbling.

"What is the matter now, you brute?" the skeleton asked. "Is there more misfortune in the air?"

"King Vladimir has been to the palace, and carried Marie-Marevna away with him."

"Shall we have time to overtake them?"

"Plenty. You could almost sow some barley and wait till it has grown, reap and thrash it, and make some beer for yourself—you might even drink it until you fall fast asleep, and when you woke up again